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Having just finished Doctor Who Series 6 Part 1 last night (HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT), I am about to start Torchwood: Miracle Day! My hopes and expectations are many, but if only a handful of them are fulfilled, I will be so pleased.

( THIS LIST. Spoilers through 'House of the Dead' )

All right, guys! Time to dive in! Ooooh, I hope this series will be nearly as excellent as Children of Earth! No, what am I saying, that's nigh impossible. I hope this series will be nearly as excellent as Doctor Who!

edit: THAT FIRST EPISODE WAS SO MUCH MORE AND SO MUCH BETTER THAN I EXPECTED WHAT WHAT. AAAAAAAAAH. ♥

Can we take a moment to discuss the third Torchwood: The Lost Files radio play, "The House of the Dead"?

( Spoilers )

To be more accurate, I am bored in lecture most days. But on one particular day, I decided to kick that boredom by having a one-sided chat to an absent

ipsius (something I do often) and ended up writing a Doctor Who/Final Fantasy VII crossover.

I was just being silly, but perhaps some of you will enjoy it.

Spoilers for Crisis Core (sort of) and "The End of Time."

"MY HOPES. MY DREAMS. THEY'RE YOURS NOW."
"ROSE TYLER."
wait can we do a doctor who/ff7 crossover?
"MY HOPES. MY DREAMS. MY COMPANION. MY TARDIS. MY SCREWDRIVER."
"THEY'RE YOURS NOW."
"TEN."
"BUT NOT MY CLOTHING."
"OR MY ACCENT."

( Five years ago, Nine and Ten were buddies. )

Radio plays are a very interesting medium. Listening to them on my iPod feels like I am having a story streamed directly into my brain because nobody around me knows what is making me laugh or snort or weep into a dish towel, and I like that I can listen to them as I'm walking to work or washing the dishes.

( Re: Torchwood Radio Plays )

I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN CONTINUE WATCHING THIS SHOW AFTER THAT. I MEAN I HAVE TO BECAUSE CHILDREN OF EARTH IS GREAT, I HEAR, AND THE PLOT SPOILERS I'VE SEEN ARE TOO INTRIGUING FOR ME NOT TO CONTINUE, BUT WHYYYYYY. WHYYYYYYYYY.

MAJOR Spoilers. ( I MEAN SERIOUSLY. )

I am not much of an icon maker, but I am an icon epicure. I spend hours shifting through icon journals and culling the ones I've already downloaded. It seems a shame not to share the beauties I have found. (Note: Some of these are linked to the maker's personal journal instead of their icon journal.)

This post is heavily biased in favor of video game icons. This is not just because I like video games; I like a lot of things. IMO, video game graphics just look better on icons. They're smooth and perfect and color well.

Teaser:

( 9 icon makers, 27 icons )

( more icons! )

This has been a post about 100x100 pixel Photoshopped pieces of stolen artwork. Who are your favorite icon makers, and which are your favorite icons?

Books and Book-Like Things
Shadow Magic. By Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett. I started this in March and finished it a few weeks ago. I was Not Impressed. Although I loved the prequel, Havemercy, I found this one drab in comparison. I didn't particularly like any of the four narrators, and although Caius Greylace teetered on the edge of interestingness, his unusual personality felt forced. Another of the novel's shortcomings was how little action was in it. That is to be expected about a novel that takes place in the aftermath of war, when the tense relationships are all diplomacy and court intrigue and running away because your brother is plotting to have you killed, which was not as exciting as it sounds, but I feel like nothing significant happened in the novel. They ate rice and dumplings. Some insults were exchanged. There was some commotion in a theater and an attempted assassination. I hope the third book, Dragon Soul, will be more thrilling than this one.

Harry Potter Books One, Three, Four, and Five. By J. K. Rowling. This is my third time reading through most of the series, and like the first time, I am in love with Remus Lupin. (The second time, I was most interested in Sirius, our resident Peter Pan.) This readthrough had be gushing love out my pores for all knowledgeable and competent characters, though, in particular Severus Snape, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, Minerva McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore, and Harry Freakin' Potter. (I think I am too used to Hermione being knowledgeable and competent, and Harry is too used to Hermione being knowledgeable and competent, for me to be especially impressed.) I had tears, tears, many tears at the end of Order of the Phoenix. I didn't even mind Harry's constant state of capslock, such was my sympathy for him. I am starting to get annoyed by the overuse of ellipses; some days, it seems like every single page has at least two paragraphs that end in ellipses and at least five that contain them. The story is remarkably well-organized, structured, and plotted, though, so I forgive all flaws in the prose.

Shoebox Project AAAAAAH. AAAAAAAAH. AUGH. SO MANY TEARS BUT SO MUCH JOY. ♥

Television
Doctor Who. I'm five or six episodes into the first season, and I am pretty impressed. I rather like the Doctor, and I think the plant lady in the second episode may be one of my favorite one-shot characters, despite my inability to remember her name. (I like people with shiny skin. The Oracles from Angel are also on my list.) The show does seem a bit overdramatic, though. Even taking into account that the Doctor is a time traveller, does the fate of the world need to be threatened in every single episode?

LOST. I've taken a hiatus in favor of watching Doctor Who, but I think I like LOST more. I had just finished episode 13. Episode 15 is written by one of my favorite TV writers, Drew Goddard, so I will definitely be returning to the show eventually.

1. I have been continuing to reread, rather voraciously, the Shoebox Project, the Harry Potter fan fiction of epic proportions which convinced me to read the book series in the first place. I had forgotten what teases

ladyjaida and

dorkorific could be and read several more chapters last night than I had intended because I thought that I might be able to reach some resolution to all the tension that has arisen between Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. I did not, but I did decide that "Part Seventeen: November, 1976. One Esteemed Person's Birthday, a Photo-Album, Thirty-five Notes of Various Import, a Banner, A Benjy, and a Raven" is my most favorite, narrowly beating out "Part Eleven: May, 1976. One Birthday and Too Much Gillyweed." (Marauders have the best birthdays.) The timing could not be better because in my rereading of the Harry Potter books, I have just come across the single mention of Benjy Fenwick, who makes an appearance in Part Seventeen. A later part which I have yet to reread may beat out the aforementioned two; I remember many tears. I enjoy tears and anger and long, beautiful monologues about memory and happiness and friendship. Here, have two excerpts from different parts, neither of which contain any of those things:

( The strength of Remus J. Lupin is an incalculable thing. )

&

( Not afraid to be out after dark, are you? )

edit: Wait, what am I talking about? "Part Five: Losing Moony. Four photographs, many notes, and part of a journal." is my favorite. How did I forget? I think that first excerpt is from "Losing Moony." Good lord. /edit

2. Speaking of rereading the Harry Potter books, I SHOULD BE REREADING THESE ALL THE TIME AND NEVER STOP. I am not so fond of the first book, and I completely skipped the second book this time around, but Prisoner of Azkaban has fully rekindled my love for Remus Lupin, Goblet of Fire had me clawing at my face in blissful agony, and Order of the Phoenix is TEARING ME APART, LISA. I love them all. Lupin. Sirius. Molly Weasley. Ron. Ginny. Fred and George. Dumbledore. Hedwig. Others, I am sure. They'll have their turn.

3. I need to learn to use better positive adjectives than "excellent," "wonderful," "lovely," "beautiful," and "magnificent." Not only do I overuse them, but I ought to steer clear of such general adjectives, anyway.

( Final Fantasy VII / Crisis Core spoilers )

( Final Fantasy 7 / Crisis Core spoilers )

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER (NUMBERED BECAUSE I CAN'T COUNT OTHERWISE)

TOP TEN LOCATIONS I WANT TO VISIT BUT CAN'T

1. Thremedon (Havemercy by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennet)
THREMEDON. THE THREE MAIDENS. MIRANDA, CHARLOTTE, MOLLYEDGE, FUCK, I WANT TO GO. HIGH, IMPOSSIBLE MAGICIANS' TOWERS, THE BASQUIAT, THE ESAR'S PALACE, OUR LADY OF A THOUSAND FANS. THE AIRMAN. CAN I GO? STEP LIVELY, WATCH WHERE YOUR BOOTS GO. MAYBE STRAY INTO MOLLYEDGE A LITTLE. MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. KEEP YOUR NOSE WHERE IT BELONGS. LOOK. WONDER. YEARN. I WANT TO GO. FUCKING THREMEDON. WHY'D YOU HAVE TO BE FICTIONAL. FUCK.

2. Hogwarts & Diagon Alley (Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling)
WHO DOES NOT WANT TO GO TO HOGWARTS? RAISE YOUR HAND. IF YOU RAISED YOUR HAND, WELL, YOU ARE WRONG BECAUSE EVERYBODY WANTS TO GO TO HOGWARTS. I AM STILL WAITING FOR MY ACCEPTANCE LETTER YOU ASSWIPES HOW DO YOUR STUPID OWLS LOSE SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN THE MAIL? BUT MOSTLY, I WANT TO GO TO DIAGON ALLEY BECAUSE I LIKE TO SHOP AND I WANT TO HAVE THE BITCHINGEST SCHOOLBOOKS UP IN THERE.

3. 18th Century Boston
FUCKING FUCK, BOSTON. YOU ARE WHERE IT ALL HAPPENS. OLD STATE HOUSE. DESTRUCTION OF THE TEA. THE BRITISH HOLING THEMSELVES IN. POLITICS AND WAR. UNICORNS. I WANT TO GO SO BAD. ~HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE~ AND ALL.

4. San Francisco
IS A BOSS. FUCKING INCEPTION IN REAL LIFE. OH WHAT I GO THERE ALL THE TIME? OOPS.

5. Lindblum (Final Fantasy IX)
BUSINESS DISTRICT. THEATRE DISTRICT. SOME OTHER DISTRICTS. PEOPLE WHO PLAY CARDS WITH YOU IN THE STREET AND WHO WRITE RIDICULOUS DIALOGUE FOR THEIR PLAYS, LIKE, "No cloud, no squall shall hinder us!" THAT IS POETRY RIGHT THERE. FUCKING SHAKESPEARE MOVE OUT OF THE WAY BECAUSE TANTALUS IS MY BAY BAY. ALSO, THAT HUNTING THING. THAT WAS PRETTY TIGHT.

6. Disneyworld
DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD. DISNEY WORLD.

7. Tidus' Zanarkand (Final Fantasy X)
WATCH BLITZBALL. CHEER AND CHEER. MAKE THROAT HOARSE. THEN PARTY. EVEN AT NIGHT? ZANARKAND NEVER SLEEPS!

8. Mt. Selene (mine)
THE MOMENT I DECIDED THEY HAVE GIANT FUCKING LIBRARIES ON THE SCALE OF TRAJAN'S BATHS, IT WAS OVER. CHESS. POOLS. CAFE. BIGASS SOFAS. ARCHERY CLASSES, FUCK YEAH.

9. Rome of the Roman Empire
I WANT TO VISIT A FUCKING BATH HOUSE AND SWIM NAKED IN ALL THAT OSTENTATIOUS GLORY OF MARBLE AND GOLD AND COLORED STONE.

10. The Dollhouse (Dollhouse)
NOT THAT I WOULD WANT TO WORK THERE BUT IT IS LIKE A PERFECT SPA WITH PERFECT MASSAGES AND PERFECT YOGA AND PERFECT BONSAI TREE TRIMMING CLASSES AND PERFECTLY CRUNCHY LETTUCE.

I PINE. SO MUCH.

I am quite proud of what Sims 2 creations I have to show off today, although the latter half still requires a lot of work before I will be satisfied. These creations are inspired by the cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Fire Nation Royal Palace

Lot Size: 5x6, I think.
Lot Price: ~210,000
Custom Content: A lot. Most importantly, carved walls and floors by Yuxi, Persianesque and Amelia living room sets by Adele, and Moroccan furniture by Dh. I may replace some furniture with more Asian-style ones by Avenida soon.

This is only a loose adaptation, using a default house as a base. It's also much darker and more forbidding than the original, with black or bronze metallic stone in place of the beige marbles and light woods. I may redo all the walls and floors when Zuko becomes an adult. (OH MY GOD I GET TO HOUSE OZAI IN A PRISON I'M SO EXCITED. And solve the mystery of wherever Ursa went, hmmm?)

( In-game shots and references )

The Sozin Household

I think I may have overdone this one, but honestly, the only things that kept me from going back another generation was concerns about household size and whether I would be able to make my favorite generation look the way I wanted.

( Only a few screenshots )

That's all for now. I can't wait until the weekend, hahaha. I'm also working on a spruced-up version of simgirl9089's Traverse Town District 1 at which the Sims can go shopping for new digs.

Current Music: Shine - Black Gold

Comics

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8. Finished this a few weeks ago. As a whole, the season was entertaining, but I cared so little. It's a shame; great and terrible things are happening to my favorite characters and I just don't give a shit. I think the art style may be to blame because Georges Jeanty's lineart just isn't very emotive. However, read it for the army of tiny vampire teddy bears screaming, "EAT THEIR #%&@ING OVARIES!"

( More: 'My glimmering hope is so large it eclipses the sun and the moon!' )

(co-written with

ipsius)

Chapter One. William the Bard's First Wife.

William the Bard's first wife was a beautiful noblewoman named Isabella Threemiddlenames. She came from a prestigious family, descended from the famed Hippomenes and Atalanta, who had granted the family with very fit and attractive genes, as well as the leisure to study crocheting, an art at which Isabella was very adept. But the family had come on hard times and had not the money it once did. William the Bard cared not about that; he cared only that Isabella was beautiful. He asked her father for Isabella's hand in marriage, and Isabella's father, who hoped to gain some money from the marriage or at least be rid of another mouth to feed, happily agreed.

The two were wed, and on their honeymoon, Isabella spoke her first words to William the Bard: "Your butt is too big."

In answer to this, William the Bard went outside and climbed a tree. When he came back down, his butt was slimmer.

Isabella was pleased, and as a reward, she gave to William the Bard a golden apple from the family's apple tree. Having acquired his dowry, William the Bard left for a foreign land, where he would meet his second wife.

( Chapter Two, in which William the Bard slays a dragon. )

( Chapter Three, in which William the Bard saves a fox )

( Chapter Four, in which William the Bard makes yogurt )

I only considered character themes from Bahamut Lagoon, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI to X-2, the Kingdom Hearts series, and the two Tales of Symphonia games because I haven't played many other games with character themes. Those games alone added about 70 songs to my collection of video game music because I had to listen to every single character theme I could think of from those games.

Note: I did not count battle themes like "J-E-N-O-V-A" from Final Fantasy VII or "The Graceful Assassin" from Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories because they play only during those specific battles and do not share leitmotifs with any other songs, so they're more representative of the battle than of the character. I may separately do a Top Ten Battle Themes eventually. (That list would almost certainly contain "J-E-N-O-V-A.")

Also note: I do not know how to talk about music and can't identify instruments well.

Fred's Top Ten Video Game Character Themes

( From composers Motoi Sakuraba and Shinji Tamura, Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda, and Yoko Shimomura; 10 + several extras )

Reading a very old interview with Tetsuya Nomura about the then recently released Kingdom Hearts II. It's pretty amusing seeing what has changed since then:

Looks like Zexion has a lot of fans.
Probably because he’s quite enigmatic. He’s the only member who showed up with no weapons but it’s not because he doesn’t have his own weapon, it’s more of because he died without fighting so nobody knows what’s his weapon. I have an idea on what his weapon is and I might have a chance of showing it in the near future so I’ll keep it as a secret for now. That reminds me, in the World that Never Was, each XIII Organization member had a gravestone for them and each of those have a picture of their weapons and that’s when Zexion became a problem for us. “Eh, we’re gonna put a spoiler on Zexion’s weapon there!?” (laugh) That’s a bit too much so we decided to destroy the gravestone so that his weapon couldn’t be seen.

I'm a little disappointed that his weapon turned out to be a lexicon, but I remember how funny it was exploring the Proof of Existence before Re: Chain of Memories had come out. My sister and I thought, oh, now we can reminisce about each Organization member and their weaponry. But wait; what is that smashed thing? Oh, right. We don't know Zexion's weapon. :|

( more )

The end is him talking about how he doesn't know if they'll do a "Final Mix" version because there's a disc space problem and also they already did so much with the original game that they don't know what to do. AND THEN THEY DID FINAL MIX AND IT WAS AMAZING and also not released internationally because the Final Mixes never are. (At least Re: Chain of Memories was.) I fully intend to play Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix one day. There's too much good stuff on there to pass up.

A few days ago, Cecilia and I started reading Deltora Quest, by Emily Rodda. It was a first for her, but I had loved the books in elementary school and continued to love the story even as I grew older and the books became too easy for me. We were reading it aloud, so our progress was slow, and we didn't even finish the prologue before Cecilia left.

The books, a series of eight with two three-book sequels, were written for children, and that fact comes out in the simplistic writing style and the riddles that stump the characters but can be easily solved by the readers. But the story is excellent, thrilling, and full of twists and turns, especially at the end. It's one of those stories that lie to you, almost from the very beginning, so that when you hit the last book and everything is revealed, it's fucking amazing.

I bring this up because my desire to reread the books and my hesitation to do so without Cecilia reminded me that some years back, an anime was made of the series. ( more on the anime )

I probably won't keep watching, though. It's pretty much the same thing as the books but necessarily worse. I want to reread all the books, plus the second sequel, Dragons of Deltora, which I never did read. My childhood! Oh, how I love thee. If you love fantasy adventures and don't mind reading children's books, I recommend them. (Especially the last two—fucking fuck whyyyyy can't they just be happy—but you have to read the first six to gain the emotional attachment that causes them to rip you apart.)

While I'm at it, I may as well recommend:
( The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Havemercy, Sh*t My Dad Says )

I also reread The Castle in the Attic, by Elizabeth Winthrop, recently, but I don't recommend it. It's a decent children's book, but I think so grand an adventure story ought to have been longer. Everything was too easy to be believable, and I felt at the end like all this trouble was taken to teach a ten year old boy 1) how to have self-confidence and 2) not to make people do things that they don't want to do or else he'll have to go on a quest to defeat and evil wizard in order to fix his mistakes and make those people not disappointed in him anymore.

"The 7th Swan," by Jaida Jones, is an odd (long) short story that incorporates fairy tales into both its main storyline and stories told by the characters. It is primarily based on The Wild Swans, but also uses Leir of Britain (or King Lear), Bluebeard, Beauty and the Beast, The Three Heads of the Well, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Tinderbox, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and Cinderella.

Courage leans against the windowsill and looks out over the land, its sectioned geometry, the red soil beneath all that greenery. ‘It’s a good story,’ he agrees, ‘but I’ve always thought it somehow dishonest.’

‘Dishonest?’

‘There must have been times—many times—when they still thought of the wounds they’d dealt each other. Closed, healed; it doesn’t matter. You always remember the hurt. That’s what people are: they exist to remember what losses they suffered once, and what blows they were dealt.’

‘They were happy,’ I counter.

‘Oh, surely,’ says Courage. ‘Things were right between them again.’

‘And what did the father have to forgive his youngest daughter for?’

‘For being stubborn,’ Courage says. ‘For refusing to see how he needed to be loved.’

While beautifully written, it isn't one of my favorite short stories. It often feels as though the characters are merely moving from one tale into another without a great deal of their own structure and narrative to guide the story—but I have a feeling that was the intent. I also take issue with the ending for reasons I won't reveal here. It is still worth a read, though. The language is lovely, and it's fascinating seeing how each of the fairy tales is used.

( Psychological effects of gaming? & Ole Elias w/ Mariell Amelie )

The only reason I am dedicating a post to these two is because I dedicated a post to Final Fantasy VIII's Ultima Weapon.

But to be quite honest, Ultima Weapon is such a joke in Final Fantasy X. I had Bahamut punch it once, and it was gone. I think I also had Wakka use Auroch Reels, but I checked Ultima Weapon's HP afterward, and that punch alone would actually have been enough. Granted, I have 135 hours worth of Sphere Grid behind me, but still.

Omega Weapon was similarly a pushover. I did manage to give everyone an action by wisely refraining from Summoning, but the battle only lasted a few minutes.

As much as I love the Sphere Grid system, the lack of levels makes the same enemies necessarily easier the longer you play. The Monster Arena fiends still pose a bit of a challenge, but I fear the remaining bosses inside Sin will be far too easy if I don't finish the game now. I am thinking about finishing the game without saving past the point of no return (if there is one), then loading my file and going through the entire Sphere Grid with all the characters for the hell of it. :) I am not done with this game until I have defeated all of the Monster Arena fiends and raised the levels of my Blitzball team to the 90s.

Current Music: Timon's Hula Song - The Lion King

Final Fantasy VIII
Ah, character development. So wonderful and yet so dangerous. Wonderful because, hurrah, movement, growth, etc. Dangerous because it becomes difficult to say you like a character in a general sense. What I mean is,

HOLY FUCK I LOVE SQUALL.

I haven't liked him since I was eight years old. I also haven't played this part of the game (end of Disc 2, beginning of Disc 3) since I was eight years old, although I may have liked him back then just because he's pretty. I fully admit that at the beginning of the game, he is a major douchebag. Not quite as much as Luke from Tales of the Abyss (who sadly sticks in my mind pre-development), but: "Your schoolmate is dead." "THIS IS ABOUT MEEE."

Have some shame, dude. Childhood trauma and internal monologues considered, that was still pretty bad. But then he started to grow, thanks to his friends who touched his shriveled little jackass heart and caused it to blossom into a happy palpitating blood squeezer, re: "You're glad they're not dead!" "No, I'm not. (Except I secretly am.)"

I am eagerly anticipating the train tracks scene because I think I will be all over that, especially given the record of scenes that have made me like Squall:

( my paraphrased Squall talks a lot more than real Squall )

Vampire Relationships lolololol
AHAHAHAHAHA, I was just reading a description of the things Edward from Twilight does to Bella that can be considered creepy and misogynistic, such as sneaking into her room and watching her sleep, stalking her, breaking up with her for her own good, thinking she needs constant supervision and protection, etc. etc. etc. and it sounds just like Angel and Buffy.

OH, VAMPIRES.

I haven't read Twilight, but as far as I can tell, the difference is that Angel and Buffy's relationship is portrayed as unhealthy and doomed to fail, whereas Edward and Bella's is portrayed as the ideal (or so I hear). Also, Buffy can beat the shit out of Angel. And does. Numerous times.

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January 2024

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Recent Entries

MY HOPES. MY DREAMS. THEY'RE YOURS NOW, TORCHWOOD SERIES 4.

"Jack, you knew what you’d find when you came to the House of the Dead, didn't you?"

I was bored in lecture one day.

Re: Torchwood Radio Plays, "Lost Souls" to "Dead Line"

Re: Torchwood 2x13

This is a post about icons.

Things I Have Recently Watched or Read

"YERAUGH!"

More freaking out.

Excuse me while I freak out.

Top Ten Locations I Want to Visit But Can't

I am the Phoenix King!

Things I Have Recently Watched Or Read

The Story of William the Bard and His Seven Wives

Top Ten Video Game Character Themes

We decided to destroy the gravestone.

no subject

She said no more.

Final Fantasy X :: Ultima Weapon & Omega Weapon

"Your schoolmate is dead." "THIS IS ABOUT MEEE."

Profile

January 2024